Iron or steel fence-post



(No Model.)

J. SQ MERRITT. IRON 0R STEEL FENCE POST.

Patented Aug. 19, 1890.

WITNESSES: v INVENTQR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES S. MERRITT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IRON OR STEEL FENCE-POST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 434,549, dated August 19, 1890.

Application filed November 25, 1889. Serial No. 331,424. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, JAMES S. MERRITT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city and county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Iron or Steel Fence-Posts, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in metal fence-posts; and the object of my invention is to furnish an inexpensive and secure device for securing to the post the stakes which are used to give greater stability to the post when it is placed in the ground. The ordinary iron or steel post, which consists of a channel, angle, or bar of iron, is usually stayed at its bottom by stakes which are secured to the main post by means of a baseplat. These stakes project outward and downward from the post and prevent the post from being forced out of line by anyordinary pressure or strains which may be put upon the fence.

My improvement in attaching the stakes to the posts consists in furnishing the post with a hole through which is passed a metal plate or link, the projecting ends of which are twisted, either before or after this plate is passed through the post, so as to be at right angles or nearly at right angles with the stakes. This plate is furnished with a hole or holes through which the said stakes are driven. These stakes bear against the sides of the postand lock the plate or link in place.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a front side elevation of the lower portion of an iron fence-post furnishedwith my improvement; Fig. 2, a rear side elevation of the same; Fig. 3, a front elevation; Fig. 4, a side elevation showing the hole through which the plate or link is passed; Fig. 5, a plan of plate before twisting; Fig. 6, a plan of link before twisting, and Fig. 7 a perspective view of plate after twisting.

A is the fence-post; B B, stakes; 0, hole or slot in post, and D base-plate. The baseplate D may be an oblong plate furnished with a slot E, as shown in Fig. 5, or it may be a link, as shown in Fig. 6, and may be constructed of wrought or malleable iron or steel. This plate may be first passed into the slot 0 in the post and its ends twisted one to the right and the other to the left, as shown in the drawings. The stakes are now driven through the slot E, which extends some dis tance past each side of the post, and these stakes bear against the sides of the slot E and the post and lock the base-plate in its place.

For convenience of shipping the base-plates D may be first bent or twisted and then inserted in the slots 0, the stakes being afterward driven in, as before described. In this case the slot 0 should be somewhat wider than the thickness of the plate D, in order to allow the plate to pass into it, the plate being now already twisted into a screw form.

In the drawings the slot 0 is shown as vertical; but it may be inclined at any angle, or if the post is wide enough it may be placed horizontally.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In combination, an iron or steel fencepost having a hole at or nearthe ground-line, a base-plate adapted to pass through said hole in the post and having its ends bent one to the right and the other to the left, and being furnished with a hole or holes for the reception and retention of the stakes, and said stakes, all substantially asset forth.

2. The combination of an iron or steel fencepost furnished with a hole at or near the ground-line, a base-plate passing through said hole and having its ends bent one to the right and the other to the left, and being furnished with a slot E, and stakes passing through said slot E in said base-plate, said stakes bearing against the sides of said slot and against the post and locking said plate to the post, substantially as set forth.

JAMES S. MERRITT. Witnesses:

MORRIS R. BOCKIUS, CHAS. A. BUTTER. 

